


a time for honesty;

by unintentionallyangsty



Category: Marvel, Marvel Cinematic Universe, Thor (Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, Angst and Feels, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Angst with a Happy Ending, Awkward Conversations, Comfort, Comfort/Angst, Crying, Dinner, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Gen, Hugs, Hurt Loki (Marvel), Hurt/Comfort, Loki (Marvel) Feels, Loki (Marvel) Needs a Hug, Loki Gets a Hug (Marvel), Not Canon Compliant, Protective Thor (Marvel), introductions
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-21
Updated: 2020-08-21
Packaged: 2021-03-06 19:47:06
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,485
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26034412
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/unintentionallyangsty/pseuds/unintentionallyangsty
Summary: Thor decides that it’s time to reintroduce Loki to some of his Midgardian friends; starting with Jane and Darcy.a casual conversation with Darcy Lewis, however, turns out to be a far more complicated endeavor than Thor initially anticipates.some previously buried touchy subjects are brought to light, Loki is less than the ideal dinner guest, and Thor is left to pick up the pieces.
Relationships: Darcy Lewis & Loki, Darcy Lewis & Thor, Jane Foster & Loki, Jane Foster & Loki & Thor, Jane Foster & Thor, Loki & Thor (Marvel)
Comments: 20
Kudos: 175





	a time for honesty;

**Author's Note:**

> this takes place in a universe wherein which Loki (somehow) survives Thanos snapping his neck. 
> 
> (there may or may not be a precursor to this fic/universe/idea coming soon. i’ll explain later)

“You know, I’ve been thinking, brother…” 

Thor allowed a few cursory seconds to pass before he glanced up from the book in his lap to where Loki was seated on the opposite end of the sofa focussing on his own book, the slight tilt to his brow the only indication that he had heard Thor at all. 

“Brother?” 

“I heard you the first time.” Loki replied neutrally. “I only thought that if I ignored you long enough, you might give up.” 

With a huff, Thor grabbed one of the throw pillows he had been lounged against and tossed it irritably in Loki’s direction, smiling slightly in satisfaction when it bounced off of the latter’s face.

“Ow.” 

“Try ignoring that.” Thor replied, and stretched so he could prod the side of Loki’s thigh with his foot. “Or this.” 

“I think I’ll manage.” Loki drawled with a small sigh, turning the page of his book with an infuriating calm. 

“ _Loki_ ,” Thor insisted, pouting exaggeratedly when Loki finally glanced briefly upward, earning a vaguely disgusted noise for his effort. 

“Fine.” Loki relented irritably, shutting his book with a snap and straightening to indicate that Thor had his attention. “What is it?” 

Thor smirked. “I’ve been thinking--” 

“Try not to hurt yourself.” 

Thor rolled his eyes. “That it might be time for us to travel to America.” he plowed hastily on when Loki’s expression shuttered abruptly. “To visit some--some friends.” 

Thor trailed off, then, when Loki’s demeanor darkened noticeably. 

“Define _friends_.” he finally muttered lowly. 

It was not, however, a total rejection, and Thor thought he may as well take it as a victory. 

“Well,” he began. “Possibly--” 

“I’m not visiting your Avengers.” Loki interrupted smoothly, knuckles paling considerably as his hold on his book tightened. 

“You visit with Bruce!” Thor argued.

“Bruce is different.” Loki dismissed with a small shrug, averting his gaze to study the wall somewhere beyond Thor’s left shoulder. “Besides, I think we both know well that he does not visit with the specific intention of wasting his time talking to me.” 

Thor grimaced slightly, though forced himself to continue in the face of Loki’s obvious ire. 

“You’ve not left Norway since we settled on Midgard.” he informed, probably unnecessarily. 

In all honesty, Loki had hardly left Thor’s home over the past few months, the only people he really made an effort conversing with at all being the Valkyrie and, on the occasions he visited, Bruce Banner. 

“Perhaps there is a reason for that.” Loki snarled, his face darkening dangerously. 

“And perhaps that _reason_ is simply your infernal stubbornness.” 

“Well,” Loki drawled, “What is that saying your Midgardians are so fond of? ‘It takes one to know one?’” 

“Fine!” Thor threw both hands up, making a show of falling back against the sofa cushions and crossing his arms moodily. “We won’t visit any of the Avengers.” 

“Thank you.” Loki snapped, rolling both shoulders slightly as if to shed the conversation, entirely. “I’m glad you could see things my way.” 

“Absolutely.” Thor nodded slowly. “I’m not certain they would want to see you, anyway.” 

“I am certain they would not.” Loki responded with a small eye roll. 

“Then we’re agreed.” Thor remarked. “Though--” 

Loki froze, his gaze halfway back to his book, and glanced warily up at Thor with a small frown. “Though?” 

Thor offered his most sincere, winning smile. It had worked on countless maidens, his own friends and, on occasion, had even been known to soften the Allfather’s cold demeanor.

On Loki, however? The effect was decidedly hit or miss in its success. 

“What?” Loki was saying now, reeling back slightly to eye Thor warily. “Thor? _What_?” 

“Well,” Thor began, feeling his smile grow slightly in the face of Loki’s clear apprehension. “Those are not my only friends in America.” 

\--- 

“So this is your brother?” 

Thor nodded with a small smile, though he could not deny the small, nervous flutter in the pit of his stomach in the face of what he was about to do. 

Best to simply jump in and consider the consequences later, he thought. 

“It is!” he replied, reaching forward to grip a clearly unimpressed Loki by the shoulder. 

“Wow.” 

A brief silence fell over the three where they were all stood idling in the entryway to Jane’s small apartment, and Thor shifted a bit before clearing his throat and pressing on. 

“Loki, this is Darcy Lewis.” he introduced, increasing the strength of his grip minutely when Loki looked ready to roll his eyes. 

Loki seemed to get the message, however, and shot Thor a sour look before nodding politely to a somewhat stunned looking Darcy. “Charmed.” 

“Your dead brother.” Darcy continued, her gaze flickering briefly to Thor before landing back on Loki.

Thor winced. “Yes, well. He was until he wasn’t. See!” he shook Loki slightly by the shoulder for good measure. “Good as new.” 

Loki did roll his eyes, then, quite unsubtly. 

“Uh huh.” Darcy nodded slowly. “And how many times has that happened, now?” 

“Three times.” Thor replied, ignoring Loki’s scowl. “Though only twice, since we have been acquainted.” 

“Oh, cool.” Darcy shrugged, still not turning to face Thor and instead offering Loki a small smile. “So do you like, get to attend your own funerals and see everybody crying over you and shit? That’s what I would do if I faked my death.” 

Thor did not miss the way Loki’s eyes narrowed slightly at the words, nor the way his shoulder tensed slightly beneath Thor’s grip. 

“I would hardly call it faking.” he spoke, before Thor had the chance to intervene. “And I do not think I was ever allotted the...pleasure.” 

“Of a funeral?” Darcy gaped, turning her incredulous gaze on Thor, now. “You didn’t even give your own brother a funeral? Dude!” 

“There was a funeral!” Thor protested, shooting Loki a look through narrowed eyes when he scoffed disbelievingly. “There was! I did tell you that we mourned.” 

Loki snorted outright, then, turning to face Thor and effortlessly dislodging his shoulder from beneath his grip. “More like tongues would undoubtedly wag if a ceremony were not held for Asgard’s most beloved fallen prince.” The words were dripping with sarcasm, and Thor fought the urge to wince in the face of them. 

“Fallen?” Darcy interrupted, “Like, you fell?”

Thor groaned slightly, wondering now why he had ever thought that introducing Loki to his Midgardian companions was a good idea. 

“I did.” Loki replied, turning to offer Darcy a wicked smile. “In more than one sense of the word.” 

“Oh, right.” Darcy nodded amiably. “The whole ‘betray your kingdom and try to take over New York’ thing. Makes sense.” 

“I--” Loki hesitated, a small bit of confusion coloring his expression.

It was a rare sight, to see his brother so taken aback, and Thor was caught between intervening and laughing outright at the sight of it.

Particularly, that Darcy Lewis had been the one to cause it. 

“I suppose.” Loki finally growled. “Though it was far more than New York.” 

“The world then, sure.” Darcy shrugged, shifting so she could stick both hands into the pockets of her jeans. “That sounds like more fun, anyway. Not that you were having fun.” she raised her brows and winced exaggeratedly. “Not with the whole ‘mind control’ thing. I’ve never personally been under mind control, but I doubt it was very much fun.” 

Thor blinked, and felt more than saw Loki do the same beside him. 

“How--” he began, when Loki did not seem quite prepared to continue. 

“Jane talks out loud a _lot_ when she’s working.” Darcy supplied with another small shrug. “You have no idea how much I know that S.H.I.E.L.D would prooobably kill me for.” her eyes widened slightly. “Not that I know anything! If--” she glanced dramatically around the room, as if fully expecting to find a hidden microphone or camera somewhere close by. 

Thor sighed softly, making a mental note to talk to Jane about what exactly she shared with her companions.

Not that Darcy knowing more details about Loki’s attempted takeover on Midgard than the average Midgardian did was any particular threat (Thor doubted if she really understood the full gravity of half the information she now had stored away, at any rate). 

However, Thor knew from experience that his brother was less than fond of anyone having access to the details of his personal life.

As if to prove his point, Loki was bristling visibly now, though Darcy either did not notice the growing danger, or simply did not care.

“So that was death Number One.” she continued, raising one finger pointedly to count off. “What about two? All those funerals must have gotten crazy expensive. Don’t you guys mourn for like a month?” she raised a brow in Thor’s direction. 

Thor hesitated, shuffling uncomfortably from foot to foot and pointedly aware of Loki’s shrewd gaze trained on him, now. 

“There ah—“ he coughed, slightly. “There was no funeral, the second time.” 

“No,” Loki responded immediately, his lip curling up into an ugly sneer. “As I seem to recall, my corpse was left to rot in a dusty ditch on Svartalfheim.” 

“Oh! Sartelfeim!” Darcy cut in, before Thor could properly formulate a response. “That was right before you got here, right?” she pointed eagerly to Thor, “And we went out and did all that weird shit with the wormholes, and you fought that dark guy!” 

“Dark elf.” Thor supplied. 

“Yeah, him!” Darcy cried triumphantly, before she seemed to remember something, and her features creased into a small frown. “Wait, you went back for a bit, though. I thought that was for a funeral.” 

“Not...exactly.” Thor admitted with a grimace. 

“No, certainly not.” Loki cut in. “Thor was much too busy renouncing the throne of Asgard to worry about such paltry things as funerals or laying his dearly departed brother to rest.” 

“I clearly had other things going on, at the time.” Thor growled, lowly. 

“More important things, you mean--” 

“And, as I seem to recall,” Thor interrupted his brother’s snide remark. “You could have easily held a funeral for yourself!” 

“Oh wait!” Darcy interjected, somehow unaffected by Loki dramatically rolling his eyes. “I take it back. If I faked my death, planning my own funeral would be _way_ more fun.” 

“Yes, it very well might have been.” Loki conceded, though he did not address Darcy directly, opting instead to keep his cool gaze trained on Thor. “But, as you might also recall, I too had a great deal of more important work to attend to.” 

“Writing plays and attending garden parties?” Thor quipped. “Very noble, indeed.” 

“You oaf.” Loki spat. “And where were you? Wiling away your time on Midgard? Falling in and out of love like some wayward maiden--” 

“Alright, enough!” 

All three figures froze, Loki himself included, to Thor’s mild surprise, as a fourth member of their company strode through the doorway from the kitchen. 

“Darcy,” Jane muttered with a small, exasperated sigh. “What did you do?” 

“I didn’t do anything!” Darcy immediately argued, and turned to face Jane indignantly. “They just started doing this!” 

“It is true, Jane.” Thor offered, taking a small step forward to insert himself between Loki and the other two, when he noticed his brother’s stony silence. “Darcy meant no harm. It is Loki and I who are to blame.” 

“I _am_ right here.” Loki interjected moodily. “I can speak for myself.” 

“And if I trusted you to, at present, I might allow it.” Thor muttered over his shoulder, to which Loki gawked indignantly. 

“I am truly sorry.” Thor intoned, giving both Jane and Darcy a small smile, before reaching back to latch on to Loki’s elbow and drag him forward. “And so is Loki.” 

“I am not!” Loki squawked, his face flushed in horror. 

“It’s fine.” Jane dismissed, glancing warily between the two before nodding to the kitchen. “Dinner’s almost ready. The uh--the dining table is kind of small, though. We normally just--” she huffed a small, embarrassed sort of laugh. “We usually just eat in the living room, these days.” 

“That’s fine.” Thor replied, glancing briefly at Loki, who only shrugged indifferently before gesturing for the others to lead the way. 

Thor bit back a sigh, though he followed when Jane turned and led the small group to the sofa. 

If the evening were to continue on in a similar fashion, he considered, it was going to be a very long one, indeed. 

\---

“So no Erik?” 

Thor and Jane exchanged a brief glance over the table, Jane’s expression slightly pinched, before the latter coughed slightly and turned to address Darcy. 

“He had...other plans.” she finally informed, glancing awkwardly away as soon as the words were out. 

“Oh!” Darcy replied, blinking slightly before returning her attention to the plate of noodles before her. “That’s cool.” 

“Didn’t want to be caged in with the monster behind his mental manipulation, no doubt.” Loki muttered, pausing picking at his food only briefly to glance up and gauge the reactions of everyone at the table.

“Loki,” Thor warned with a dark frown. 

“Oh yeah, you did that too!” Darcy cried. “That’s wack. Mind control while under mind control. How does that even work?” 

“Darcy.” Jane interjected, shaking her head subtly when Darcy glanced up at her. 

“It is quite simple, I assure you.” Loki informed, pointedly ignoring Thor’s narrowed gaze. “Acting under someone else’s control creates a unique situation. Your actions feel almost entirely your own, born of your own free will and desire, until you and the administrator are…” 

He trailed off, then, all haughtiness draining from his tone as he seemed to almost draw in on himself, his gaze falling back to where he was still picking at his noodles. 

“Separated.” he finished, at length, an expression of blatant discomfort crossing his features as if the word tasted particularly foul. 

An unsteady silence fell over the table, each occupant diverting their eyes to focus on their food or something above the others’ shoulders. 

“Oh.” Darcy replied primly, after a beat, leaning forward to take a healthy slurp of her noodles before continuing, “So, uh--No funeral the third time either, I’m assuming?” 

“ _Darcy_.” 

“What?!” Darcy made a face at Jane’s bewildered expression. “I’m making conversation! You told me to make conversation!” 

“Not like _that_.” 

“Well, I--” 

“Loki?” Thor inquired, hesitantly, and though the word was spoken lowly, it effectively drew the attention of everyone else in the room. 

Loki was practically hunched in on himself, now, his shoulders held tense and drawn almost to his ears as he continued to glare down the meal before him as if it had done him a personal wrong. 

His face, it seemed, had drained almost entirely of color, which would have been little reason for concern, given its usual pallor, had Thor not noticed the faint tremor of his hands where they were clenched in the fabric of his sweater at his elbows. 

“Uh,” Jane was the first to speak, standing so suddenly that both Darcy and Thor started slightly (Loki, for his part, did not react beyond a slow blink, which only served to heighten Thor’s concern). “Darcy, can I get your help in the kitchen, for a second?” 

Thor understood immediately, and shot Jane a grateful look, though he would admit that he was not certain the solitude was what Loki needed, at present. 

“I thought dinner was done?” Darcy questioned with a small, confused shake of her head. 

“Now.” Jane demanded, before turning on one heel and disappearing into the next room. 

“Alright,” Darcy muttered sarcastically, before standing and shooting both Thor and Loki a small smile. “Be right back, I guess.” 

Thor returned the smile weakly, and watched as she disappeared into the kitchen as well before turning to address the still silent Loki. 

“Loki,” 

“It’s fine, Thor.” Loki dismissed immediately, though the words were somewhat hollow, and he made no effort to uncurl from his hunched position, instead seeming to shrink further away when addressed. 

Thor exhaled a slow breath, glancing to the adjacent doorway to ensure they were truly alone before leaning forward to rest one hand on Loki’s still trembling forearm. 

“You’re not well.” he murmured, a small triumph quickening his pulse when Loki did not immediately pull away from the touch. 

“It is as I said.” Loki responded, at length, moving for the first time to offer Thor a contemptuous look, though the effect was somewhat diminished by his still sallow complexion. “It matters not. I will be fine.” 

“‘Fine’ and ‘will be fine’ are quite different scenarios, I think you’ll find, brother.” Thor chided gently, fighting to keep his expression neutral when Loki pegged him with a weak scowl. 

A tense silence stretched between them, then, each unwilling to yield in the face of the other’s insistence. 

At last, Loki exhaled a small sigh, and seemed to deflate before Thor’s eyes.

“I simply do not wish to discuss it.” he finally muttered, looking slightly pained at the admission, and shifted so that his knees were tucked closely to his chest with his gaze remaining determinedly downturned, breaking the connection between them to wrap both arms closer around his form. 

“I understand.” Thor replied immediately, working to offer up a small and (hopefully) encouraging smile. “I apologize.” 

“It is not your fault.” Loki shook his head, shrugging one rail thin shoulder in immediate dismissal. 

“I apologize for my companions, then--”

“They are not at fault, either.” Loki interrupted.

Thor frowned, then. “I should not have arranged this.” he argued. “You’re still tired. I--” 

“It’s _fine_.” Loki snarled. “I am not so weak willed as to be exhausted by a simple outing. You need not--”

“No,” Thor interrupted, before Loki could work himself up into the predictable tirade. “But it is not uncommon to wish to avoid certain topics.” 

“It is weakness.” Loki snapped. 

“It is to be _expected_.” Thor insisted, his frustration mounting at Loki’s insistent bullheadedness. 

“Do you think me completely free from my own nightmares?” he cried, and slammed one hand on the table between them, a distant guilt registering when Loki flinched visibly. “Do you believe yourself to be the only one who wishes to forget the horrors of the past?” 

Loki blinked, green eyes widening slightly as he observed Thor warily. “Brother…” 

“It is not weak to be hurt.” Thor continued unheedingly, though his voice had settled into a more gentle murmur, now, his brows knitting together as he offered a small smile. “It is not weak to admit fear, Loki.” 

Loki froze, the furrow between his own brows deepening slightly the only sign of his impenetrable mask shifting at all, and inhaled an audible breath through his nose. 

Thor decided to take this as a hopeful sign, and drew in a steeling breath of his own before leaning forward to clasp again at Loki’s forearm. 

“You are not weak, Loki.” 

The reaction was instantaneous. 

Loki’s steely expression crumpled, his eyes falling shut and his face pinching tightly as he leaned forward, a weak grunt escaping out from between his tightly pursed lips before he clasped both hands over his mouth with a rough inhale. 

Immediately, Thor surged forward, cupping the side of Loki’s neck ( _gently_. Always gently, now) beneath one hand and leaning down so that his forehead was pressed against the side of Loki’s head, his heart twisting as he felt Loki shudder mightily beneath him. 

“It’s alright, brother.” Thor breathed, moving to run his other hand soothingly over Loki’s arm. “You’re alright.” 

“I’m _weak_.” Loki hissed vehemently, wriggling feebly in Thor’s hold for a brief moment before collapsing limply with a shuddering exhale. “I’m--”

“No, Loki.” Thor interrupted, not missing how Loki tensed slightly at the words. “No. You’re _strong_.” 

And, when Loki released a small whimper, Thor took it as his cue to tighten his hold ever so slightly. 

“You’re brave, Loki.” he whispered, turning slightly to press a long kiss to the curls at the side of his brother’s head. “You’ve been so brave.” 

A choked inhale came from below, and Thor’s felt as if his heart was near breaking at the sound of it. 

“It’s alright.” he murmured, rocking the both of them gently and dropping another kiss onto the crown of Loki’s head. “You’re okay.” 

There was a beat, the room silent save for their mingled, harsh breaths, before Thor felt Loki’s hand rise slowly (ever so slowly), only to fall forward to clasp tightly at the fabric at the back of Thor’s shirt. 

“Shh.” Thor soothed, the hand previously rubbing at Loki’s arm rising to cradle the back of his head when he felt a small spot of dampness begin to spread at his shoulder. 

“It’s alright.” he repeated.

And, for the first time in almost as long as he could remember, he began to believe the words. 

“We’re alright.” 

**Author's Note:**

> i just like the idea of the four of them hanging out occasionally (̶a̶n̶d̶ ̶k̶i̶n̶d̶ ̶o̶f ̶r̶e̶a̶l̶l̶y̶ ̶w̶a̶n̶t̶ ̶t̶o̶ ̶a̶d̶d̶ ̶a̶ ̶s̶e̶c̶o̶n̶d̶ ̶c̶h̶a̶p̶t̶e̶r̶ ̶t̶o̶ ̶t̶h̶i̶s̶)̶
> 
> writing without a beta, so all mistakes are my own 
> 
> basically, i just really wanted an excuse to write Darcy and this happened. questions? comments? fic prompts?? hmu at my tumblr [here](https://littlekinng.tumblr.com)


End file.
